Sanitary bed pan having a disposable lining



May 10, 1966 J. E. WILSON 3,249,950

SANITARY BED PAN HAVING A DISPOSABLE LINING Filed July 1, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. I

INVENTOR. JAMES E. W/LSO/V y 1 1966 J. E. WILSON 3,249,950

SANITARY BED PAN HAVING A DISPOSABLE LINING Filed July 1, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 V v v X y INVENTOR. JAMES E. WILSON United States Patent 3,249,950 SANITARY BED PAN HAVING A DISPOSABLE LINlNG E. Wilson, 2825 Lamas St, San Diego, Calif.

Filed July 1, 1963, Ser. No. 291,785 Claims. ((11. 4-112) James .The sanitation methods in the care of hospital bed pans fall into two categories: care between uses by one patient and care between two patients. In the first instance when a bed pan is to be returned to. the same patient it is necessary to remove the pan to a washing facility, where the pan is emptied and rinsed in one of various methods and returned to the patient. This system has many inherent disadvantages some of which are:

(1) It is time consuming for the attendant who must empty and wash the pans then return pan to bed side stand;

(2) Since the pans are not sterilized germs are spread throughout the area of contact of the pans;

(3) Special plumbing fixtures utilized in many instances are both expensive to install and maintain, and require excessive space;

(4) Further expense is incurred through the hot water utilized for Washing the pans.

The second operation, that of sterilizing the pans between patients, is also disadvantageous. Here the pans are placed on carts for removal to a sterilization station which in and of itself is time consuming and unsanitary. Ordinary procedures require equipment expensive to install, maintain and operate. After the pans have been sterilized, they are placed in individual thin paper bags. At this point, all of the pans in their individual thin paper bags are returned to the cart they were brought down in and distributed as needed.' Obviously, the cart itself is a germ carrier from having numerious unsterilized bed pans and other objects placed thereon in transit to the sterilization stations. Since the sterilized pans are only protected by thin paper bags they will undoubtedly become somewhat contaminated on their return trip.

Some attempts in the prior art have been made to improve or obviate some of the disadvantageous features mentioned above. In the main, these haveutilized disposable bags of one type or another. However, it has been found that since the patient comes in contact with the disposable bags and the bed pan itself, some cleaning is necessary between single patient usage, and sterilization, with the inherent disadvantages set out above, is still required in between-patient bed pan hygiene. This is necessary due to the patients contact with the seat of the bed pan, and the bed pans contact with the patients bed. Furthermore, the disposition of the bag itself is a problem i.e., drain clogging, etc.

According to the invention, a bed pan is provided having as many as four distinct structural parts. Supporting the top and bottom of the bed pan is an integral webbed structure, which can be molded in plastic for example. In one embodiment, a disposable bottom pan-shaped member is provided for the webbed structure to be press fitted therein. A seat is press-fitted over the top of the webbed shaped member, and a seat cover can be snapped or pressfitted on the seat. In one embodiment, a disposable bag is draped over the seat, fitting down inside the webbed shaped section, with the seat cover holding the bag in place. The bag is preferably entirely water soluble to facilitate its disposition, having an inner water proof coating to prevent premature decomposing. An alternative construction would be the elimination of the bottom panshaped member and the seat cover making the entire units disposition between patients economically feasible. Servicing between uses by one patient merely involves the removal of the plastic bag. It can be seen that in the first embodiment the only portions that come in contact with the patient are the bottom portion (which contacts the patients bed-sheets) and the seat cover, both of which being disposable obviates the necessity of sterilization between patients. Further, the use of disposable water soluble bag insert obviates the necessity of emptying, then cleaning, the entire bed pan after each use. The second embodiment obviates the disadvantages of the prior art in the same manner i.e., the between use service being merely the disposition of the bag and the between-patient service being the disposition of the entire unit, again obviating the necessity of washing and sterilizing the bed pan itself.

It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a sanitary bed pan which utilizes a removable and disposable waterproof lining.

Another object is to provide a sanitary bed pan in which a removable water soluble lining is utilized for easy disposition.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a sanitary bed pan in which disposable elements are utilized to obviate the necessity of sterilization between patients.

Still another object is to provide a sanitary bed pan which is inexpensive, simple to use, and is entirely disposable, rendering sterilization between patients unnecessary.

-Yet another object of the invention is to provide a sanitary bed pan utilizing a water soluble disposable lining having a Waterproof coating which obviates the necessity of washing the pan after each use.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of an improved sanitary bed pan with a plurality of press fitted parts for simplicity and economy in shipments of large quantities thereof.

Other objects in many of the attendant advantages of this invention will be readily appreciated as the same be comes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which like reference numbers designate like parts throughout the figures thereof and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded side pictorial view of another element of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective pictorial view of a second embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, seat cover 11 is press fitted on seat 12 which, in turn, is press fitted on supporting frame 13. Supporting frame 13 has a side portion comprising ribs 14 and a bottom portion 16. The top portion of supporting frame 13 comprise the top surfaces of ribs 14. Supporting frame 13, with bottom portion 16, supporting rib 14 is all integral and can be constructed of a heavy duty synthetic plastic, for example. Bottom portion 16 of supporting frame 13 is press fitted into bottom member 18. Disposable bag 19 which can be a plastic, for example polyethylene, is held between seat cover 11 and seat 12 or between seat 12 and frame 13, and is disposed Within ribs 14 of supporting frame 13. Disposable bag 19 is preferably made of a water soluble plastic such as a polyvinyl alcohol for example, with a waterproof 3 coating such as a polyamide resin on the inner surface thereof.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the components of FIG. 1 are shown in exploded form. Here again, seat cover 11 is press fitted on seat 12, which in turn is press fitted on supporting frame 13. The bottom portion 16 of frame 13 is press fitted in bottom member 18. Bag 19 can be held between the seat cover 11 and seat 12, or between seat 12 and supporting frame 13.

The purposes and advantages of the illustrated construction features will be now described. Bottom member 18 is to prevent contamination of the rest of the unit from the patients sheets. Support member 13 raises the seat 12. and seat cover 11 to a desired elevation for allowing the opening of disposable bag 19 for the reception of waste. Between uses by one patient it is merely necessary to remove seat cover 11, close the top of the bag 19 and dispose the bag together with contents into any convenient toilet facility. The Waterproof inner coating will contain the waste until disposition of the bag in a toilet facility at which time the bag itself dissolves in water. This eliminates the possibility of plugging drains or the bags decomposing before disposition in the toilet facility. A new bag is then placed over seat 12 and seat cover 11 is snapped into place, readying the unit for its next use. When the bed pan is to be used by a new patient, the bottom member 18 and the seat cover 11 are discarded and replaced, rendering the entire unti in a sanitary condition for the next patient. The remaining elements have not been in contact with the patient. Hence, the necessity for washing between uses by one patient together with the necessity for sterilization in-between patients has been obviated. The open ribbed construction is well known for the structural strength it lends and further, the component construction of the entire unit has been designed for ease in storage and shipment, i.e., each of the units fits together as separate items for stacking either in storage or shipment.

It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing disclosure relates to only preferred embodiment of the invention and that it is intended to cover all changes and modifications of the examples of the invention herein chosen for the purposes of the disclosure which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention.

4 I claim: 1. A bed pan comprising: a supporting frame having bottom and side portions; a seat having a central opening, said seat being carried by said supporting frame side portion; a seat cover, said seat cover press fitted over said seat;

and a disposable bag constructed of a water soluble plastic having a waterproof coating on one surface thereof, said disposable bag being held between said seat and said seat cover, and being disposed within said supporting frame side portion. 2. A bed pan comprising:

a supporting frame having top, bottom and side por-' tions;

a seat having a central opening, said seat being carried by said supporting frame top portions;

a seat cover, said seat cover press fitted over said seat;

a disposable bag, said disposable bag being held between said seat and said seat cover, and being disposed within said supporting frame side portion;

a bottom member, said supporting frame side portions press fitted within said bottom member.

'3. The bed pan of claim 2-wherein said disposable bag is water soluble, and has a waterproof coating on one surface.

4. The bed pan of claim 2 wherein said supporting frame top, bottom and side portions are integral.

5. The bed pan of claim 2 wherein said seat is press fitted on said supporting frame top portion.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,353,245 7/1944 Kiser 4-112 3,061,840 11/1960 Presseisen 41 13 3,069,693 12/1962 Brodsky 4-112 FOREIGN PATENTS 782,029 3/1935 Frane. 898,903 6/ 1962 Great Britain. 908,451 10/ 1962 Great Britain.

LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner.

SAMUEL ROTHBERG, Examiner. H. ARTIS, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A BED PAN COMPRISING: A SUPPORTING FRAME HAVING BOTTOM AND SIDE PORTIONS; A SEAT HAVING A CENTRAL OPENING, SAID SEAT BEING CARRIED BY SAID SUPPORTING FRAME SIDE PORTION; A SEAT COVER, SAID SEAT COVER PRESS FITTED OVER SAID SEAT; AND A DISPOSABLE BAG CONSTRUCTED OF A WATER SOLUBLE PLASTIC HAVING A WATERPROOF COATING ON ONE SURFACE THEREOF, SAID DISPOSABLE BAG BEING HELD BETWEEN SAID SEAT AND SAID SEAT COVER, AND BEING DISPOSED WITHIN SAID SUPPORTING FRAME SIDE PORTION. 